Can Linux Open-Xchange Replace Microsoft Exchange? - page 2

The Many Moods of Open-Xchange

January 21, 2011

By
Joe Brockmeier

Speaking of the documentation, it's a case of good news and bad news. Things are spread out quite a bit on the "OXpedia" and the documentation is fairly complete. It does, however, require some sifting and patience in actually finding what you may need. Also, I've spotted quite a few instances in screenshots where either the actual OX interface hasn't been fully translated to English or they simply used the German language screenshots.

The Appliance Edition is based on Debian, and uses what may be the least attractive installer I've ever seen. It does the job, and it's not very complicated — it just looks like it.

From the experience I've had so far with OX administration, I'd give it a B, maybe a B-. It could be far easier to administer for a small business, but I suspect that much of the company's focus is on their hosting provider business. I'd recommend strongly considering a hosted version of Open-Xchange if you have a smallish organization with limited tech support resources. If you have more time than money, though, the Server and Community Editions are there.

Until Next Month

I happen to be in the "more time than money," group. Ultimately, I've decided to go with the Community Edition for the next few weeks and test it out. I've got installation and some basic configuration tackled, but the real question is what it's going to be like as an end user.

My first impressions of Open-Xchange — it has a lot of promise for end users, but it could be far easier to set up. It's open source, but Open-Xchange doesn't go to great lengths to build community around its open source offerings and Community Edition. That's disappointing, but they are there for the organizations and projects that might like to use the Community Edition in lieu of support.

That's our first look at Open-Xchange. Next month, I'll report back and give an overview of using Open-Xchange and recommendations. Should you be considering Open-Xchange for your organization? I'll let you know in February.